Convert desktop too wireless ethernet bridge?

Dritz

Would it be possible to take an old computer I have laying around and converting it to a wireless ethernet bridge? Basically I'd have a wireless card or USB dongle on the PC to connect to my home network and share the internet with other devices (namely my blu-ray player) via ethernet.

Google tells me that most laptops are quite capable of this and many linksys routers can be hacked to serve in this function. However I can not really find much mention of what to do with a desktop computer.

I'd prefer any solutions presented be applicable to Linux or FreeBSD but I could also use Windows XP.

psyck0

I believe that Windows has a "share your internet connection wirelessly" option somewhere; I know that OSX does.

Dritz

Sounds like it is possible after searching quite a bit. Most people seem to go with modified routers. Taking power usage into consideration I'm now thinking I may be better off picking up a cheap router. I would hope to eventually use my old PC as a NAS anyways but that's probably pretty far off.

I do have a Macbook right now which I've been able to share it's wired connection wirelessly (with a DS). Can't quite figure out how to do it the other way around for my blu-ray player though.

Barrakketh

Dritz wrote: »

Most people seem to go with modified routers. Taking power usage into consideration I'm now thinking I may be better off picking up a cheap router.

The router will pay for itself and then some when you consider how little power they use compared to a PC. I think most of them use 10 watts or less, and it'll be smaller and quieter than a PC.

ZackSchilling

ZackSchilling wrote: »

You can actually buy any cheap router that does wireless bridging without the hassle of the computer. Dedicated wireless bridges are even cheaper. This one is $30: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16817201523 A few reviewers use it to connect 360s to a wireless network.

This one is cheaper, smaller and claims it can do more than just bridge: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320025R No reviews, so this would be a shot in the dark.

Dritz

Thanks sorry if I missed the page you're quoting from. I think I'll get my hands dirty and customize a router rather than buying an actual bridge. Although I only need one ethernet port now it's possible I might want another in the future.